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Aaron Martens’ Winning Setup

by | May 25, 2019 | , , , , , | 0 Comments

Take a look at the set ups Aaron Martens relied on last week at Table Rock Lake in Stage 6 of Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour.

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John Cox Cruises To Wire-To-Wire Win In Bassmaster Open On Chickamauga

by | May 25, 2019 | | 0 Comments

DAYTON, Tenn. — Carrying a nearly 8-pound lead into the final round, no doubt, builds confidence, but John Cox readily acknowledged the good fortune that enabled him to slam the door on a wire-to-wire win in the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga with a three-day total weight of 66 pounds, 5 ounces.

John Cox goes wire-to-wire to win the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 5 ounces. Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.

Cox, who won an FLW Tour event on Chickamauga three weeks ago, took the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 26-11. Adding 21-12 on Day 2 gave the Debary, Fla., pro a 7-pound, 13-ounce lead going into the final round. Today, Cox sealed the deal with a five-bass limit that weighed 17-14 and gave him a winning margin of 4-11.

“It was an amazing week,” Cox said. “So many of my fish catches were so special, and it seemed like luck played into a lot of them.

“Today, I didn’t see one of my key fish — a 5-pounder — until the last second. He didn’t see me, for some reason. I flipped over to the fish and it ate my bait. When I got it into the boat, I realized I was on its blind side; it was missing his eye. If it had been any other direction, I wouldn’t have caught it.”

Cox caught all of his bass in shallow water, including bluegill beds, banks with deeper water adjacent and docks. Although he had planned to fish offshore shellbeds and bars in 8 to 14 feet of water, Cox found his areas too congested with other anglers on Day 1. Snooping around in the shallows quickly convinced him that’s where he needed to remain.

“The first day, I caught a couple good ones out there, but then it got really crowded in those areas,” Cox said. “I didn’t feel comfortable being around all those people, so I said ‘I’m just going to do what I like doing,’ so I got up shallow.

“Once I saw fish swimming around up there, I got sucked into it and I never went back out to those shellbars.”

Cox said his top baits were a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jigs swim jig in the tactical shad color with a white Berkley Max Scent Meaty Chunk trailer, a wacky-rigged 5-inch Berkley Max Scent General (stickbait) in the green pumpkin party color.

For his efforts, Cox won $43,800 and earned a berth in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. This win, he said, elevated Chickamauga to the top of his personal list.

“I don’t know what to say; this used to be my second-favorite lake, but after this one, it’s definitely my favorite,” Cox said. “I love it when we get to come here, I love all the people and I hope we get to come back.”

Chris Peters of Birchwood, Tenn. finished in second place with 61-10. After tying for 28th place on day one with 14-9, the local fireman who left the weigh ins to start his weekend shift, rose to fourth on Day 2 after catching 20-3. Adding 26-14 today moved him up two notches.

“It took me a little while to get dialed in,” Peters said. “On Day 1, I ran a lot of spots. I had about 30 places I wanted to try. I got them dialed in yesterday and got them dialed in better today. Everywhere I stopped today, it was (catching) one after another.

“I was throwing a big jig, but the deal was the Trixter Custom Tackle Rowdy Craw trailer. It’s a hand-poured plastic so it’s a lot softer and has a lot of action. I think that played a key role today and all week.”

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga. finished third with 58-10. Gross placed second on Day 1 with 23-8, slipped to third on Day 2 after the lack of current limited him to 15-12 and settled in the No. 3 spot after adding 19-6 in the final round.

Gross caught several of his bass this week on swimbaits and crankbaits, but today, he tempted his biggest fish on a 3/4-ounce green pumpkin Nichols casting jig with a green pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk trailer.

“I was fishing spots with a little grass mixed in with some brush, and the jig seemed to be the deal today for the bigger bites,” Gross said. “I just slowed down. I had been catching smaller bass on a dropshot, so I decided to go with more of a big-fish bait.”

Chad Pipkens of Lansing, Mich., won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with his 9-8.

Jon Jezierski of Troy, Mich., won the co-angler division with 32-2. His was an impressive comeback story, as Jezierski placed 84th on Day 1 with 5-7, but roared back a day later with a three-bass limit that weighed 14-3 and pushed him up to fourth. Today, he claimed the win by adding 12-8 — the final round’s only double-digit co-angler bag.

Jezierski caught his fish on wacky-rigged Bass Pro Shops Sticko stickbaits in the sprayed grass and plum/emerald flake colors, a Strike King 8XD crankbait in green gizzard shad, a shaky head with a Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm and a Texas-rigged 10-inch blue fleck Berkley Power Worm.

“Getting on the water with my practice partner, (Elite angler) Garrett Paquette, allowed me to see quite a bit of the lake,” Jezierski said. “I followed his lead whether it was fishing ledges deep or docks shallow, or grass. We put it all together and I took it as each day came.”

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss. won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award among co-anglers with a 9-7.

2019 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Basspro.com

2019 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Talon

2019 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Lowrance, Mossy Oak Fishing, T-H Marine, Carhartt

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 510,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

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Media Contact: Dave Precht, 205-313-0931, [email protected]. | Gettys Brannon, 864-490-7864, [email protected]

 
           2019 Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open Lake Chickamauga 5/23-5/25
                           Chickamauga Lake, Dayton  TN.
                             (BOATER) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  John Cox               Debary, FL              15  66-05  200  $45,300.00
  Day 1: 5   26-11     Day 2: 5   21-12     Day 3: 5   17-14
2.  Chris Peters           Birchwood, TN           15  61-10  199  $21,900.00
  Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   20-03     Day 3: 5   26-14
3.  Buddy Gross            Chickamauga, GA         15  58-10  198  $14,600.00
  Day 1: 5   23-08     Day 2: 5   15-12     Day 3: 5   19-06
4.  Tyler Berger           Delaware, OH            15  51-09  197  $13,140.00
  Day 1: 5   19-15     Day 2: 5   13-14     Day 3: 5   17-12
5.  Chad Pipkens           Lansing, MI             14  49-01  196  $12,430.00
  Day 1: 4   10-15     Day 2: 5   29-11     Day 3: 5   08-07
6.  Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        15  49-00  195  $10,220.00
  Day 1: 5   16-09     Day 2: 5   16-09     Day 3: 5   15-14
7.  Sam George             Athens, AL              15  48-07  194   $9,490.00
  Day 1: 5   16-06     Day 2: 5   15-02     Day 3: 5   16-15
8.  Scott Hamrick          Denver, NC              15  44-08  193   $8,760.00
  Day 1: 5   17-02     Day 2: 5   14-00     Day 3: 5   13-06
9.  Austin Felix           Eden Prairie, MN        15  43-06  192   $7,300.00
  Day 1: 5   15-03     Day 2: 5   15-08     Day 3: 5   12-11
10. Kay Choosakul          Sanford, NC             14  41-12  191   $6,840.00
  Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 5   19-02     Day 3: 4   09-07
11. Jeff Dyer              Oak Hill, OH            13  40-01  190   $5,110.00
  Day 1: 5   15-13     Day 2: 5   17-06     Day 3: 3   06-14
12. David May              Odessa, FL              14  38-07  189   $4,380.00
  Day 1: 5   15-12     Day 2: 5   15-11     Day 3: 4   07-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
     Chad Pipkens             Lansing, MI         09-08        $750.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1       116       831      2085-12
 2       114       759      1948-09
 3         9        56       172-08
----------------------------------
         239      1646      4206-13

Aaron Martens Rides Deep Drop-Shot to Win at Table Rock

by | May 23, 2019 | | 0 Comments

BRANSON, Mo. (May 22, 2019) – If you ask Major League Fishing® (MLF) pro Aaron Martens what his least-favorite technique is, he’ll giggle and tell you “Drop-shotting, bro.” It’s a running joke that the West Coast native has maintained for several years, claiming that he’d much rather be flipping a creature bait swimming jig, all the while racking up win after win using a technique he helped pioneer.
Martens can now add 100,000 more reasons to love the drop-shot.
Methodically plinking his way around a series of offshore brushpiles and flooded cedar trees in the main stem White River on Table Rock Lake, Martens connected with 50 fish for 86 pounds, 4 ounces, running away with the Championship Round of the Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Six Presented by TrueTimber and claiming a $100,000 paycheck (plus his first MLF championship trophy).
And he did it in true “A-Mart” fashion. While first-period leader Andy Montgomery watched his shad-spawn bite flame out in the second period, Martens kept a steady fish-catching pace from lines in to lines out, starting the morning connecting with multiple fish on a spinnerbait and swimbait between Moonshine Beach and Indian Point before picking up the drop-shot rod in the second period.
Martens stayed in the same area throughout the rest of the day, battling the wind and current while repeatedly dropping a Roboworm to fish he was seeing on his electronics and putting 34-14 on SCORETERACKER® in Period 1, adding 33-12 in Period 2 and holding on to the lead through the final period with 14 fish for 14-7.
“I spent my whole practice graphing,” Martens admitted. “I figured if I could find more waypoints and schools, that’s how I should spend my time. I knew every day the fish were going to change, but I had my graphs pretty dialed in where I can see fish in the trees, and see if they’re a bass, a white bass or shad. I know the bluff walls were a big deal, but I just felt better about what I had deeper.”
Montgomery Bet on Shad Spawn
Montgomery came out of the gate like he would run away with the trophy, thanks to the same morning shad spawn he had exploited all week long. Montgomery piled up 49-13 in the first period to open up a 15-pound lead on Martens and the rest of the field. But Period 2 proved to be the difference-maker of the day: Montgomery put only 8-11 on SCORETRACKER in 2 ½ hours, and could only keep working his docks as Martens overtook him with 30 minutes left in the period.
MLF pro Andy Montgomery finished second in the Bass Pro Tour Championship Round, also catching 50 scoreable bass. His weight totaled 77-14. (click to enlarge/download)
The South Carolina pro finally gave up on his dock pattern as the third period started, picking up a flipping stick and locating better-quality fish: five of his 10 fish in the final 2 ½ hours were 2 pounds or more, allowing Montgomery to stay within distant striking distance of Martens.
“There were a lot of signs that told me (I should’ve changed), but I just couldn’t quite pull the trigger soon enough,” Montgomery admitted. “I caught them so good (in the Knockout Round), but most of that was largemouth. Today, it was all spotted bass on those docks. I didn’t think that those largemouth could’ve moved out that fast, but I guess they did. I had a good third period flipping, but I wish I’d done it in the second period.”
Table Rock Showed Out
Although Table Rock is one of the most well-known tournament venues in the country, the six days of Bass Pro Tour competition showed this impoundment of the White River in a whole different – record breaking – light. Some of the most notable numbers from the week:
*    6,078 fish were put on SCORETRACKER
*    Total weight on SCORETRACKER for the field for the event was 9,815-2
*    Martens’ total weight for four rounds was a record 283-4
*    Cliff Pace weighed in a record 179 fish
Championship Notes
Martens’ victory is his 11th tour-level win. It’s also Martens’ first win in the MLF catch/weigh/immediate-release format.

Jeff Sprague took over the Points Championship lead with another strong event: Sprague has 417 points, followed by Edwin Evers with 414.

Stage Six Results

To see final results for Stage Six, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click “results.”

###

About Major League Fishing 

Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Discovery Channel, World Fishing Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Discovery Channel, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). The new Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and the Bass Pro Tour Championship, the REDCREST. MLF will also continue its popular Cup events and World Championship, all of which use the same entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format. For more information, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Also, for more information about MLF anglers, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.

Classic Fans Help Carhartt raise $6,400 for Tennessee Fisheries Conservation

by | May 21, 2019 | | 0 Comments

The recent donation of $6,400 by Carhartt to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation is certainly one of the many awesome byproducts that continue to precipitate from the 153,000 generous fans who attended bass fishing’s biggest event in Knoxville earlier this year.

Among the great experiences Bassmaster Classic fans had was the chance to make a $10 donation to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation at the Carhartt booth, and receive a custom B.A.S.S. beanie in return for their generosity. Hard working folks from the Carhartt manufacturing plant in Kentucky were actually in the Carhartt exhibit booth sewing the iconic B.A.S.S. logo on Carhartt’s famous “A18” acrylic watch cap.

Fans gave generously to the point of purchasing 640 beanies as part of this project, which is an ongoing effort by Carhartt to partner with B.A.S.S. and avid fans at the Classic to support conservation agencies and projects in the host state of the Classic each year.

The check was presented recently at a Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series tournament, where Joey Woodard, Executive Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation expressed his gratefulness.

“On behalf of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, I’d like to thank Carhartt and so many of the Classic fans for their generous fundraising effort. Their $6,400 gift will be placed in a restricted fund to be used exclusively to support fisheries management and angler recruitment efforts to help ensure future generations benefit from Tennessee’s rich fishing heritage,’ concluded a very grateful Woodard.

Defoe is Latest Record Breaker as He Dominates Elimination Round on Table Rock

by | May 20, 2019 | | 0 Comments

BRANSON, Mo., (May 20, 2019) – Another day, another record at the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Berkley Stage Six Presented by TrueTimber on Table Rock Lake.
 

Ott DeFoe pushed his two-day weight total to 133 pounds thanks to 54-14 in today’s Group B Elimination Round, and while that fell just short of Cliff Pace’s record of 134-11 from the day before, DeFoe was still able to mint a new record with 91 bass caught during his Shotgun and Elimination rounds.

MLF NOW! live stream analyst Marty Stone summed up the week perfectly in the waning moments of the broadcast: “It wouldn’t be a day at Table Rock if we didn’t break a record.”

It has become the story during the Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, and both the Knockout and Championship Round records are likely to fall in the next two days if the weather cooperates.

The fishing today slowed down for many in the field, but it was still excellent. It seems Table Rock Lake has set the bar high and even 951 scoreable bass seems like a downturn, which sounds absurd.

It was the first day that the field brought in less than 1,000 bass. That’s how good Table Rock has been this week.

Jones Jr. and Browning Make Moves

Overall, the Top 20 remained largely the same from the start of the day to when competition wrapped up this afternoon. Dustin Connell and Chris Lane were the only two anglers to fall out of the Top 20 (19th to 27th, and 20th to 31st respectively), with Alton Jones Jr. and Stephen Browning replacing them.

Both Jones and Browning had stellar days, Browning boating a day’s-best 37 bass and Jones racking up the most weight on SCORETRACKER® today. His 67-5 ounces catapulted him up 20 spots as he rose from 26th to fifth place in Group B.
MLF pro Alton Jones Jr. started his day with this 3 pounder, plus had five more bass over 3 pounds in his
Elimination 2 total catch of 31 scoreable fish. (Click to enlarge/download)

One of the keys to Jones’ success was the quality of fish he caught. While he still counted 31 scoreable bass, his weight total was helped by six bass over three pounds, including a 5-2 bass that earned him the Berkley Big Bass of the Day award.

“I’m on an early bite, and most of my weight has been coming before 10 a.m.,” Jones said. “The sun also helped, so I don’t know the changing weather for tomorrow is going to affect me.”

Browning’s stout day boosted him from 23rd to 14th and advanced him to Tuesday’s Knockout Round.

“I started the day strong and was able to ride the momentum throughout the day,” Browning recounted. “I was fishing the same areas as I did in the Shotgun Round, but I made two bait changes, and it worked. We’ll see what the weather does tomorrow. It could take 30, 40, 50, or 70-pounds to make the Top 10; you never know with the way this place is fishing.”

Evers Falls Short, Clausen Holds On

The ever-dangerous Edwin Evers slowly crept up the leaderboard from starting the day in 25th. He threatened for the final advancing spot and briefly held 20th place with one hour to go. In the end, he finished just short and is the first angler on the outside looking in, at 21st.

Clausen started the day in 16th and briefly fell below the cutline before rallying up a few spots. Catches in the final moments by Jordan Lee and Greg Hackney lowered his placement to 20th, but he was able to hang on.

Weather Changes Loom

The Branson area has been very welcoming to the Bass Pro Tour, but the weather has been in a state of constant change this week. The evening is under a flash flood warning and Tuesday calls for a 100-percent chance of precipitation with possible lightning to go with a predicted 20 mph wind in the afternoon.

Group Comparison

Group A had an eye-popping 15 anglers yesterday with over 100-pounds, and Group B posted slightly less today with 11 hitting the century mark. The 20th place was considerably different between the groups. In Group A, Randall Tharp’s 94-12 total put him in the final qualifying spot while Luke Clausen wrapped up 20th with 83-06 in Group B.

Looking Ahead

The Top 20 anglers from each of the Elimination Rounds advanced to the 40-angler Knockout Round to be held Tuesday – weights will be zeroed, making the Knockout a one-day scramble.

The Top 10 anglers in the Knockout Round will advance to the Championship Round on Wednesday, May 22.

Daily Winners

Elimination Round 2 daily awards were:
*    The Berkley Big Bass of the Day was a 5-2 largemouth caught by Alton Jones Jr.
*    Jones also earned the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award with 67-0

*    Browning was the Berkley Catch Count winner with 37 bass

How, When, Where to Watch

Knockout Round competition begins Tuesday, May 21 at 6:30 a.m. CT with live, official scoring available at “lines in” via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app.

The MLF NOW! live stream starts at 9 a.m. CT, with live, on-the-water coverage and analysis provided by Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone and Natalie Dillon until lines out at 2:30 p.m. The Berkley Postgame Show – hosted by Steven “Lurch” Scott – will start at 4 p.m.

Elimination Round 2 Results

To see Elimination Round 2 final results for all Group B anglers, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click ” results.”

###

About Major League Fishing 

Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Discovery Channel, World Fishing Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Discovery Channel, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). The new Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and the Bass Pro Tour Championship, the REDCREST. MLF will also continue its popular Cup events and World Championship, all of which use the same entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format. For more information, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Also, for more information about MLF anglers, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.

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